The House of the Rising Sun
by Carolle Royale
Summary: On the occasion of the 6th year after Kuoniji's defeat, all the Alices gather at the Nogi Manor for a night of wonderful festivities. However, things go haywire after one of them has been murdered... "There's a psychotic killer on the loose and you're saying that you still have feelings for me?" #MayMadness2014 *18
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer :** I do not own Gakuen Alice.

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**A/ N :** Okay, so I had posted this story before and then I deleted it and now it's back again! I've got many ideas for this story and I'm hoping to finish it within 2-3 months, so **_hopefully _**I will. If you've read my profile, you'll know that I am officially done with high-school! Yess, I'm a college student right now! I started writing when I was in 10th grade and basically took a 2-year hiatus (I suck, I know) because I was trying super hard to get into college but now that I did, I have all the time in the world to write :)

This story is a bit different from my usual ones. A few of my friends have deemed me for writing humorous stories, but for some reason, I can't really write funny stories anymore :/ I hope that's just a phase though because I love writing funny stuff and making people laugh :)

This is just the prologue so don't fret much about the short length of this chapter. :)

Gosh, this is such a long Author's note! Sorry if I bored you! Okay, now on to the story!

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**Prologue**

Twenty-one year old Aoi Hyuuga cursed profoundly as her new black stiletto got caught in a small hole. She hadn't expected the polished marble floor to have any of those, after all she was at the Nogi Manor and they were noted for their well taste and sophistication in almost everything, from clothes, food, furniture and more. But it seemed that her assumption was erroneous. Of course there just _had to_ be a small hole and the tip of her shoe just _had_ to fall into it. Rolling her eyes at her misfortune and blowing her bangs away from her eyes, she bent down a bit to retrieve her shoe. After poking around for a couple of seconds, the tip of stiletto emerged out from the hole. Sighing with relief, she adjusted her toe and then proceeded her walk down the long corridor.

She had gone to the washroom to freshen up. The evening's festivities were quite exhausting and it was only merely nine! The thought of going back to the ballroom and mingling with all her old friends brought a smile to her face. It was truly a miracle how they all had survived the war. She couldn't believe it was six long years ago; it felt like it had just been yesterday. She remembered how hard it was for everyone during the war. She remembered what it was like to constantly be weary of everyone and everything around her. Worst of all, she remembered how it felt wondering if all of her friends would come back home when they left on for a mission. She had worried the most about her brother and Mikan, the two had been inseparable then. Mikan absolutely refused to let Natsume go on a mission alone and vice versa. It was really shocking how they had parted ways after the war. Till this date, Aoi didn't know exactly why the both had separated. She, along with the rest of the Alices, was absolutely confounded as to why Mikan Sakura and Natsume Hyuuga - the golden couple, had broken up. She let out a soft sigh. Thinking about what had already passed wasn't going to do her any good. If anything, it'd only cause her to be sullen which would completely ruin the festive spirit.

Shaking away all thoughts about the war, Aoi halted. She squared her shoulders and closed her eyes.

_The war is over._

_The war is over._

She took in a deep breath as she repeated that mantra in her head a couple of more times. After a few seconds, she opened them and let a small smile spread across her face.

She couldn't believe she was being so silly. Of _course _the war was over, Kuoniji had been killed! By her brother, to be exact!

Shaking her head at her idiocy, Aoi smoothened her purple velvet dress and proceeded to turn around the corner.

But the mantras that she had chanted in her head earlier didn't help her whatsoever.

Before she could fully register what she had seen, a blood curling scream erupted from her lips.

And then her knees gave out, thus making her collapse onto the hard cold marble floor.

She had been so wrong. The war definitely wasn't over.

It had only just begun.

**~(*)~**

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**Reviews are very much appreciated! :) **

**-Carolle Royale **


	2. Murder at Nogi Manor

**Disclaimer : I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

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**A/N :** Here's the first chapter! I hope you guys like it :)

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**The House of the Rising Sun**  
**Chapter 1**: _Murder at Nogi Manor_

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Mikan Sakura had never liked Red Bull. It was quite random, but oh god, she never quite understood why people would _willingly_ want to drink that vile liquid. It tasted like cough syrup for crying out loud! Why would people want to drink bloody _cough_ syrup? If they wanted to drink something that tasted like cough syrup, why not drink actual cough syrup instead?

She truly never understood the craze for Red Bull. Until today, that is.

"Did you spike this?" Mikan asked the woman in sitting in front of her as she indicated towards the can with a jerk of her thumb. They were currently seated at one of the many street cafés in Paris. She could see the Eiffel tower a couple of blocks away. It was a marvelous sight. Everything seemed so perfect, so surreal. Mikan could even hear a violin playing somewhere in the background. She softly sighed.

The raucousness of the busy Tokyo roads was quite a contrast to the mellifluous sounding music she heard on the streets of Paris. She let her eyes wonder about the street, admiring the archetype architecture around. A couple of seconds later, reality dawned upon her and she looked back at the can in her hand suspiciously, trying to figure out whether there was anything queer written on it or not.

The woman rolled her eyes. "You're being utterly absurd, Sakura."

Mikan huffed as she placed the Red Bull can back onto the table. She leaned back on her seat and then crossed her arms over her chest. "This doesn't taste like cough syrup! It's actually quite tolerable!"

"Welcome to the normal world."

Mikan frowned. "I'm being serious, Permy. There is definitely _something wrong_ with this Red Bull!"

Sumire let out a soft sigh and crossed her legs. "It's probably because it's French Red Bull," she provided hopefully, as she took a sip of her Café Latte. Unlike Mikan, _she_ was drinking something classy. It made sense; they were at one of the classiest cities of the world, after all.

Mikan nodded at that. "I guess you're right.." she murmured, still eyeing the Red Bull can doubtfully. After a while (when she probably decided there wasn't anything illicit with the offending item) she took another sip. "I wish we could live here forever," she murmured, sighing wistfully.

Sumire propped her elbow on the table and nodded. "So do I. Tokyo is so..._prosaic."_

"And it's full of moronic bastards," Mikan muttered, her nose wrinkling with utmost disgust.

Sumire cackled at that. "You mean, it's full of _hot _moronic bastards," she improvised, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"I thought you were over the 'fan girl' phase!" Mikan accused, shooting Sumire a fierce glare.

Sumire shrugged nonchalantly, swiftly brushing away the death glare she was receiving. She took another sip of her Café Latte and let her eyes roam behind Mikan, taking in the vertical view of the Eiffel Tower. It was simply exquisite. "So? That doesn't mean I can't appreciate his hot bod."

Mikan groaned at that. Hot bod? Seriously? Granted, he _did have _ a fine physique but his manners and his behaviour were a total turn down. Plus he was a sly, conniving, little slimy git.

"Can we _please_ not talk about him? I mean, we're in the city of lights! Let's just enjoy the place, yeah?" Mikan implored, quite keen to change the topic. She didn't want to talk about him. _Ever._ Hell, she disliked even _thinking _ about him! She absolutely refused to let herself think about him anymore. He was the one who did all that shit to her. It wasn't the other way around. That was one of the main reasons why she became a crime investigator for both non-Alices as well as Alices. It required a lot of travelling which was quite perfect because she'd hardly ever had to cross paths with _him _seeing as he owned a business which was located _only_ in thanked the lord for that, she truly did.

That was why she was in Paris. The Prime Minister's wife had been murdered so she had been contacted by the French government to investigate the situation. Normally, it would've been quite strange for a Japanese citizen to look into French matters, but ever since the war, Alices became known throughout the world and their work was highly appreciated. It was really quite natural that she'd go into the crime department. She liked her job and due to the war, she knew _exactly what_ she wanted to do. The case had been solved a few days ago, but she stayed back in Paris to relax for a couple of days. To make things even better, she had bumped into her old friend, Sumire, who had had a fashion shoot in Paris.

So really, you couldn't blame the two when they decided to hang out with each other for a couple of days and catch up. It was quite expected, the two of them _had_ been friends back at the Academy, contrary to popular belief.

"We're two gorgeous single ladies in the city of love," Sumire retorted, her mouth turned downwards in disdain, "if I were an outsider, I would've totally thought that there was something _terribly wrong_ with us."

Mikan cracked a grin at that. "Well, who needs love? Being single is the _best_ thing ever!"

Just as those words erupted from Mikan's lips, Sumire spotted a couple strolling past them. They had their hands entwined, and they were whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. The man said something to which the woman threw her head back and started laughing hysterically. Sumire sighed wistfully.

She truly missed all of that.

"Sumiree?" Mikan asked, waving a hand in front of her friend's face. "Are you alright?"

Sumire snapped out of her reverie and looked back at Mikan. She plastered on a big smile. "Yes. I'm fine," she reassured her and then an idea struck her." Look, " she began, her eyes shining, "I've got VIP tickets for this night club near the Le Grande Palace," she trailed on, not finishing the rest of her sentence.

"Let's go!" Mikan concluded Sumire's sentence with enthusiasm evident in her voice . She then chugged down the rest of her Red Bull. "I really need to do something crazy now."

Sumire laughed. "Let's go back to the hotel first, shall we?"

Mikan nodded ardently before she felt something vibrate in her pocket. She scrunched up her eyebrows in slight confusion at first, but then realization dawned upon her: it was her cell phone.

"Are you coming, Mikan?" Sumire asked, already out of her seat. She looked down at her skirt and frowned. There were wrinkles from where she had sat on it. Letting out a slight frustrated sigh, Sumire smoothened down her skirt in an attempt to cease the wrinkles. She was rather punctilious that way; the mere sight of wrinkles or smudges of dirt on her clothes bothered her to quite an extent.

"Just a second, let me check my phone," Mikan replied as she fished out her phone from her pocket. She typed in the security password and clicked on the 'new message' icon.

It was from the Secretary.

_Ms. Sakura. Your presence is requested back at headquarters i__mmediately. _

Mikan frowned at the message.

What could possibly be wrong now?

_So much for having fun at the night club._

**~(*)~**

"Where is Sakura?"

The statement was met with a string of other questions, each proving to be sillier than the other. This ridiculous exchange of questions without receiving any answers seemed to go on about for a couple of minutes with everyone eventually forgetting the initial one that had been asked.

"Enough! All of you!" The man who had asked the initial and the most sensible question roared as he slammed his fist down onto the wooden table.

An immediate silence followed and every delegate present shut their mouths. They knew better than to disobey orders from the Secretary. Well it seemed everyone except for one did.

"I think I know where Sakura is, Rei! I reckon she's made a small stop at Louis Vuitton!" Exclaimed a man with a shocking array of platinum blond hair. Unlike the other members present at the meeting, he was the only one wearing a light blue suit. It was quite a contrast amongst the ocean of black ones. He didn't seem to be deterred by that; in fact, he embraced the eccentricity.

"Stop being ridiculous, Narumi." The Secretary retorted with a roll of his eyes. "Sakura can't possibly be at Louis Vuitton."

"But there's an Autumn-Winter Sale there! I'm telling you, she's at Louis Vuitton! You've got to listen to me, Rei!" Narumi interjected, his eyes showing gleams of excitement at just the mere mention of the elite brand.

The rest of the members of JCIB snickered at that. While a few shook their heads disapprovingly. Trust Narumi to involve fashion into everything.

"She's not at Louis Vuitton. And don't call me Rei." The Secretary or more commonly known as Persona growled out lowly but loud enough for Narumi to hear.

Narumi chuckled nervously as he felt Persona's penetrating gaze pierce through him. He looked away subtlety and gave him a sheepish smile. "Well, maybe she —" Narumi started but was interrupted when the door to the room was flung open rather abruptly.

"I'm so sorry!" A young girl rushed in and quickly shut the door closed behind her. "I was with a friend and after I teleported her from Paris, she fell terribly ill and I couldn't just _leave_ her like that! So I stayed at her apartment till her fever alleviated a bit and then I came here immediately. I'm so so sorry! I —"

"Stop wasting our time with your blathering and take a seat, Sakura." Persona coolly interrupted, as he clasped his hands and placed them professionally down on the table.

Mikan could feel her cheeks grow hot as she quickly took the first empty seat that she spotted. It was next to an old woman whom Mikan had never seen before. She was quite sure that she knew/met all of the members of the JCIB...

"Well now that Sakura has finally decided to grace us with her presence, let's get down to business."

Mikan blushed a deeper shade of rouge as she sunk into her seat. It wasn't her fault that Sumire had teleportation-sickness! She actually hadn't known that kind of thing was even possible!

"I think most of you are aware of what happened last night," Persona continued.

Mikan shook her head. "I'm sorry, Persona. But I have no clue as to what happened."

"Well if you hadn't been galloping around Paris then maybe you would've known." He directed towards her with an easy drawl.

Mikan sunk further into her seat trying to block out the snickers she could hear.

Persona smirked when he saw her discomfort. "Would anyone like to enlighten Sakura about the happenings of last night?."

The elderly woman sitting next to Mikan raised her hand.

Persona nodded at the old woman. "Go on then, Ms. Kimichi. Tell Sakura the details."

The elderly woman, Ms. Kimichi moistened her lips before speaking. "Yuu Tobita was murdered at Nogi Manor last night."

Mikan's eyes nearly bulged out of her sockets and her face changed from red to extreme white. "No!" she screamed out, nearly knocking over her chair as she sprung out of her seat. "You're kidding!"

A man sitting across from her gave her a small sad smile. "I'm afraid we're not."

"Bu..but how?!" Mikan asked, her voice suddenly quiet. A million thoughts were going through her head. She refused to believe that her friend was dead. He simply couldn't be dead. Just couldn't.

"We don't know." Narumi said, dejectedly as he eyed Mikan's lugubrious expression.

Mikan's thoughts were in a jumble. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Yet, as she looked at all the members present at the meeting, she could tell that they were being serious about this matter.

Yuu had actually been killed.

Mikan grabbed the edge of her chair for support when she felt her knees give in.

This...this..just wasn't possible.

Yet it had happened.

"Ho..how was he murdered?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"Well, from what we have so far, Yuu Tobita was killed with a water bottle." Narumi said solemnly.

Mikan's head jerked up at that. "A water bottle?!" Mikan asked, her voice quite incredulous. "You're telling me that Yuu was killed with a _water bottle_?!"

Realizing how incompetent Narumi's previous statement sounded, Kimichi provided Mikan with the precise details. "The water bottle was shoved down his throat which resulted in asphyxiation. Both his wrists had been cut but we believe it was after the incident with the water bottle."

Mikan had no words to say.

"The post-mortem results show that one of his lungs had been removed," Kimichi continued in her monotonic voice.

"Thank you, Ms. Kimichi." Persona said as an indication for the elderly woman to stop talking. Ms. Kimichi unwillingly shut her mouth and let a small frown form at the corner of her lip. She obviously had more to say.

"You want me to work on this case." Mikan said, realization dawning upon her. "That's why you called me here."

"Precisely," Persona nodded.

Mikan nodded her head. "Okay," she said determined. She would find Yuu's murderer. She owed her friend that much. "I'll start on it right now." She said as she started to move towards the door.

"I'm afraid you can't do that." Persona informed her calmly.

Mikan shot him a questioning look. "Why not?"

"Because your partner isn't here yet."'

Mikan let out a frustrated groan. "I don't need a partner, Persona! I am completely capable of doing this —" she started but was cut off by a knock on the door.

"Ah, come in." Persona said loudly, completely ignoring Mikan's complaints. The door knob turned, and a young man walked inside the conference hall.

Mikan's jaw dropped in disbelief. This could not be happening to her.

"Meet your partner, Sakura." Persona said coolly. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

The young man gave Persona a small nod before turning to smirk at Mikan.

"Hello polka dots."

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**Carolle Royale**

**-**_May 9th, 2014_


	3. The Entrepreneur

**Disclaimer : Nah, I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

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**A/ N :** Hii. Here's the next chapter! It's quite short, sorry! The next chapter will be longer :D

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**The House of the Rising Sun  
Chapter 2 : **The Entrepreneur

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Mikan had always had a vivid imagination. At the age of four, she had drawn pictures of a kingdom ruled by fairy unicorns, and at the age of six, she began playing 'make-believe.' Her 'make-believe' wasn't like that of the other girls her age. She made numerous scenarios in her head which ranged from her attending Hogwarts and flying on Hippogriffs to capturing the Loch Ness monster. Her imagination was wild and people often complained that she had a habit of exaggerating things. But one couldn't blame Mikan for that, after all, she had a vibrant imagination.

But she was sure as hell that she wasn't imagining _this : _ her ex flame (who she hadn't seen for years now), smirking at her in_ her_ office.

Her imagination wasn't _that_ wild.

"You may want to close your mouth." Natsume drawled, amusement flickering in his ruby orbs and hands shoved casually into his pockets. His appearance had changed, Mikan noted and she cursed the gods above for making him even more attractive than he was back at the Academy. His hair, which had been long raven locks during their days at the Academy were now a cut short, which made him look more mature. His seemed taller as well and his features seemed more sharp. Normally, any kind of facial hair was a turn off for Mikan, but Natsume carried off his stubble _very_ well, much to Mikan's dismay. How the hell was it fair that he got even hotter?!

"Or perhaps you'd like it if a fly flew into it?" Natsume mused.

Mikan immediately shut her mouth and pursed her lips firmly. She looked away from the moronic bastard and turned her gaze at Persona.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said, her voice had a small edge of hysteria to it. "This is your idea of some cruel joke, right?"

Persona raised an eyebrow as if the mere idea of that seemed perturbing. "Do I look like the type of person to joke?"

"Bu—but I can't work with him!" Mikan sputtered out, her cheeks flushed and fury boiling in her blood. She balled up her hands into fists and held them tightly by her side."I hate him!"

"Your words wound me, Polka." Natsume drawled out smoothly, a slow, easy smirk appearing on his face. However contrary to his words, his expression seemed quite amused and not wounded at all.

Mikan swiftly ignored his stupid comment. "I'm not working with him, Persona." She said, lifting her chin up in a manner which would've been close to obstreperous.

"Did I give you an option?" Persona asked a bit disinterested with her whelms. He took a sip of water and turned to the rest of the JCIB. "The rest of you can depart. I need to address these two in private."

The members of the JCIB nodded their heads and got up from their seats and proceeded to move out of the conference hall.

"Good luck," Narumi whispered to Mikan as he departed.

Mikan muttered a small 'thanks' and watched as all the members departed the room one by one. It took a whole three minutes before the room was empty. Mikan was thankful for that. The three minutes gave her some time to breathe and think. He just couldn't _be_ here! After years of avoiding him at parties and the occasional run down at the streets, he just couldn't be here at her office! This was_ not_ possible! It defied all the laws of ignoring someone and not talking/looking at their too-handsome of a face for the rest of existence.

"I don't care about the fact that the you two have personal problems with each other." Persona started, breaking Mikan away from her thoughts as he motioned for the two to take a seat in front of him. Mikan moved towards the table and made a point to take the seat furthest from Natsume. Well, the furthest she could sit without making herself look like a silly child (which was 4 seats away from Natsume's).

Natsume shrugged. "The past is the past. I don't have any problem."

Persona nodded appreciatively. "See Sakura? He has absolutely no problem working with you."

Mikan grunted. "Why is he even on this case?" she asked as she shot Natsume a glare. "I thought he was some type of shop keeper?"

"I'm an entrepreneur, you dumbass." Natsume interjected, obviously insulted on being called a shop-keeper. "Haven't you read the newspapers?"

Mikan shrugged. "I read the newspapers but, I've never seen any article about you," she said coolly.

Natsume scowled.

Mikan smirked.

Persona rolled his eyes. "I chose Hyuuga for this assignment because I believe this is his field of expertise. After all, the war did end because of him and it only makes sense if I use the best of the best."

Mikan frowned. Was he saying that Hyuuga was better than her?

"But Persona," Mikan started earnestly, "Hyuuga hasn't been training for 6 whole years! Don't you think he's lost his touch?"

"I haven't lost my touch, Polka." Natsume bit out, anger creeping into his voice. "You forget who you're talking to."

Mikan resisted the urge to stick out her tongue at him like a five year-old. Instead she settled for discretely showing him the finger.

"I'm positive that Hyuuga hasn't lost his abilities. Am I right, Hyuuga?" Persona asked as he turned to look at Natsume.

Natsume lifted his chin up. "Absolutely."

Persona clasped his hands together. "Well, I'll be leaving you two here to discuss the case." And with that, he swiftly got up from his seat and soon she heard the click of the door, indicating that Persona had locked her in the room with Natsume.

She scowled. Damn Persona for doing this to her! Just this morning she had been with Sumire in Paris and now she was locked in a room with her ex-boyfriend. So not cool.

She refused to be the first to talk. After all, he had been the one to cut off all ties with her in the first place so there was no way in hell she was going to initiate whatever conversation Persona planned on them having. She crossed her arms across her chest and made a point to glare at the door.

_Stupid Persona._

"Do you make it a point to brood during work?"

Her left eyebrow twitched. She hadn't expected him to say something so soon. "Piss off, Hyuuga." She muttered, still glaring at the door. She'd count till 1000 and hopefully by then, Persona would unlock the door.

_One...two...three..._

He chuckled lowly. The sound sent a strange sensation down Mikan's spine but she dutifully ignored it. "Quite the charmer, aren't you?"

_Four...five...six..._

She turned to narrow her eyes on him. He was leaning back against the leather chair, his feet propped up on the long table and a small smirk on his face. He looked completely at ease with the situation, not as if he were locked in a room with his ex-girlfriend. That enraged her even more. How dare he not be affected at all by her presence?! The nerve!

"I hate you," she bit out, her eyes still narrowed.

_Seven...eight...nine..._

He didn't even batter an eyelash. "I think it's safe to say that the feeling is mutual."

She clenched her fists. This was too much for one day. "Go to hell," she hissed, quickly standing up. She gave him one last scowl before she teleported away to her flat, leaving him alone in the room.

She sunk against the wall and let out a shattered breathe.

Damn it.

She hadn't even lasted a minute.

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Reviews would be lovely. :)

**Carolle Royale**

_-May 28th, 2014_


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